Macron calls Amazon rain forest fires an ‘international crisis’ to discuss at G-7 summit

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called the fires ravaging the Amazon rainforest an “international crisis” that must be discussed at the upcoming Group of Seven (G-7) summit.

“Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rain forest – the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire. It is an international crisis,” Macron tweeted.

“Members of the G7 Summit, let’s discuss this emergency first order in two days!”

Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rain forest – the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let’s discuss this emergency first order in two days! #ActForTheAmazon pic.twitter.com/dogOJj9big

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 22, 2019

Macron is hosting this year’s summit of economic powers in Biarritz, France, meaning that he is responsible for setting the agenda.

{mosads}A Monday session focused “climate, biodiversity and oceans” was previously scheduled, a senior Trump administration official told The Hill.

While leaders from France, Italy, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and the U.S. — the G-7 members — and some other developing countries will be present at the summit, Brazil will not be.

Brazil’s space research center, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), released data this week showing that wildfires have increased 83 percent from last year.

The 72,843 fires in a little less than nine months is a record, creating a massive threat to global biodiversity and efforts to combat climate change.

The spike has coincided with the election of president Jair Bolsonaro, who vowed in January to develop the Amazon region for farming and mining.

Bolsonaro has rejected the data from his state agency while blaming opponents for staging the fires to hurt his image.

He fired the last director of INPE after criticizing agency statistics showing an increase in deforestation in Brazil.